Who developed the puffed corn-and-rice snack Pirate's Booty in 1987?

Robert Ehrlich developed the puffed corn-and-rice snack Pirate’s Booty in 1987.

Ehrlich created the product as part of Robert’s American Gourmet Food, a company that focused on better-for-you snack ideas. Pirate’s Booty combined corn meal, rice and cheddar cheese into a light, airy puff, giving it a texture similar to cheese puffs but with a distinctive shape and branding.

Ehrlich was reportedly inspired while watching shoppers buy cheese puffs. He felt many competing products contained artificial ingredients and little real cheese, so Pirate’s Booty was positioned as a more wholesome alternative. The brand later became part of a larger snack portfolio.

B&G Foods acquired Robert’s American Gourmet Food in 2013, and The Hershey Company acquired the Pirate Brands in 2018. Ehrlich later founded Vegan Rob’s, another snack company. A common mix-up is crediting the later corporate owners rather than Ehrlich, the product’s original developer.